EPA Fines Monsanto

1:42 PM MDT | July 8, 2010 | Rebecca Coons

The U.S. EPA says it has fined Monsanto $2.5 million for selling genetically engineered cotton in restricted Texas counties without the proper planting restriction labels and growing guides. The penalty is the largest received under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Avt (FIFRA), which restricts planting of cotton seeds with Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) genes in certain Texas counties to prevent insects from developing resistance. Monsanto disclosed in 2007 that it had sold the seeds, Bollgard and Bollgard II, in restricted counties. The...